Ball and like feeding



N0V- 12, 1968 J. R. c. LAWRENCE 3,410,453

BALL AND LIKE FEEDING Filed April `1o, 1967 INVENTOR:

Josef# Ro sae-r wa/sforna( nukue United States Patent O 3,410,453 BALLAND LIKE FEEDING Joseph Robert Christopher Lawrence, 92 Chaworth Road,West Bridgtord, Nottingham, England Filed Apr. 10, 1967, Ser. No.629,638 2 Claims. (Cl. 221-175) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A mechanismto dispense a predetermined number of discrete article. The mechanismcomprises of a hopper adapted to house the articles, air pressure meansto agitate the articles positioned adjacent the outlet of the hopper. Atube guide member connected to the hopper outlet adapted to accommodatethe articles as they are delivered from the hopper. Spaced valves arepositioned adjacent the free end if the guide member and means toactuate tire valves alternately whereby when the top valve is opened andbottom valve is closed, articles will flow into the zone between thevalves and thereby supported by the bottom valve. Upon reversing thevalves, the top valve will arrest the entry of articles into the valvedzone and the bottom valve will allow the free liow of the articles fromthe valved zone.

The invention concerns a method of and a means for the feeding of ballsor like discrete structures from a supply thereof, and has particular,though not exclusive, reference to a device for the controlled feedingof balls for application to a component, for example, a bicycle freewheel assembly, building machine.

The primary object of the invention is to provide a simple yet effectivedevice whereby a requisite number of balls can be fed to a deliverypoint of a component assembly machine.

According to the present invention a method of feeding balls or likediscrete structures individually and in succession from a supply thereoflocated in a container includes the step of fluidising the said supplyat least in the region of an outlet or feed orifice of the container,and causing said balls to pass through said orifice.

Preferably, he balls or like structures will be subjected to a forceacting outwardly of the orifice thereby to facilitate their movement.

In one arrangement the balls are fed to a connecting device whereatpredetermined quantities thereof are separated and passed onto asubsequent process. 'f The invention also includes apparatus forpractising the method aforesaid which comprises a hopper, an outlet tothe said hopper, and means adapted to direct duid to the interior of thehopper and adjacent to the outlet.

Preferably, the hopper will be closed and the outlet will be provided atthe lower end thereof, an outlet tube being aligned with the said outletand in spaced apart disposition relative thereto, and the iiuid will befed into the hopper through the said lower end.

The invention will now be described further, by way of example only,with reference to the single figure of the accompanying ydrawingsillustrating one embodiment thereof in diagrammatic cross section.

Referring now to the drawings, a ball feeding and counting machineassembly comprises a ball feeding part 11 arranged to pass balls 12singly and in succession from a supply 13 thereof and a counting part 14arranged to receive balls from the said feeding part and to pass on apredetermined number thereof to a component assembly machine (notshown), or to some other machine.

The ball feeding part 11 consists of a hopper 15 having a downwardlyconvergent base 16 thereto, an outlet pipe 17 disposed below the saidhopper and in alignment with Patented Nov. 12, 1968 but spaced from athrough hole 18 in the said base, and a pneumatic means (not shown)arranged to apply pressure air to the interior of the hopper, the latterbeing closed at its upper end by a lid 19 secured thereto. The base 16of the hopper comprises an inverted conical shell having the throughhole at the apex thereof and such base is secured to the lower end of acylindrical sleeve which defines the wall of the hopper 15. A furthercylindrical sleeve 20 is secured to the hopper 15 so as to dependtherefrom, the said sleeve 20 being closed at its lower end by a plug21, the said plug 21 being apert-ured to receive the aforesaid outletpipe 17 and an air feed pipe 22.

The counting part 14 consists of a generally vertically disposedcounting lnube 23 having spaced valve means 24, 25 therein, and actuatormea-ns whereby the upper valve means is actuable thereby to prevent theentry of further balls to the tube between the spaced means. The upperend of the counting tube is carried by a support plate 27 sec-ured tothe end of a spindle 28 whilst such tube terminates, at its lower end,in a counting machine block 29, such block being firmly secured to thespindle at the lower end thereof and being movable with such spindleupon axial movement thereof, and furthermore having a through hole 26therein with which the counting tube connects.

The spindle 28 is slidably mounted in a xed tube part 30 carried at theend of a mounting arm 30 and a helical spring 31 is provided about thesaid spindle, the lower end of such spring being seated on a shoulder30a formed Within the fixed tube part and the upper end of such springbearing against the underside of the support plate 27. A sleeve 32 isprovided about the spring 31 in the upper region thereof, such sleevebeing secured to the support plate 27 and being of such externaldiameter as to be telescopingly engageable within the upper end 30h ofthe fixed tube part 30.

The upper -valve means 24 comprises a body part 24a extendingtransversely of the counting tube 23 and secured thereto and a valvemember 2417 slidably mounted in the said body part, the valve member 24hextending outwardly from the body part 24a and having a plunger 33 insliding engagement with the remote end thereof. The valve member has anoutwardly directed peripheral ange 24b at its outer end and a returnspring 34 is positioned about the member, being located between the saidflange 24b and the end face of the body part. The inner end of theplunger is tapered as is readily apparent from the drawing. A furtherreturn spring 35 is provided about the plunger, one end of the saidspring engaging the end of the valve member and the other end abuttingthe back of a head 33a fonmed on the plunger. The operation of the uppervalve means will be described later.

The lower valve means 25 comprises a valve member 25a located within ablind hole 36 in the counting machine block 29, such member having atransverse passage 25b therein, and a return spring 25e positioned inthe said hole inwardly of the valve member. The valve member is held inposition within the hole by a retaining plate 37 secured to the blockand acting against a shoulder 25a' on the valve member. A tube 38connected to the outlet pipe 17 of the ball feeding part 11 to the upperend of the counting tube 23, and the said counting tube has throughholes 39 therein at -spaced intervals therealong to prevent theformation of an air lock on the discharging of the ball therefrom. Thecounting tube 23 furthermore has a through hole 40 therein in alignmentwith the valve 'mem- 'oer 24b of the upper valve means and to receivethe inner end of such member.

The operation of the assembly is as follows:

With the hopper 15 of the ball feeding part 11 fully charged with balls,say ball bearings for feeding to a chain sprocket free wheel assemblingmachine, pressure air is fed to the space below the underside of thehopper through the feed pipe 22 and passes into the said hopper throughthe opening 18 in the base thereof. By virtue of the fluidisation of theballs within the hopper, the ball density in the region of the hole inthe base of the hopper is reduced, and individual balls will 'bedischarged from the hopper to the outlet pipe 17.

In practice the ball feeding part Will generally be disposed above theball counting part and the ejected balls will move along the connectingtube 38 to the counting tube 23 to pass the upper valve means 24 thus toenter the space between the valves constituting a valved zone, the 2.5.Since the lower valve means 25 is in the closed condition the passage ofballs is prevented and thus a supply of balls is built 'up in thecounting tube. If the build up is allowed to continue until the columnextends above the upper valve means, an actuation of such -upper meansand a subsequent actuation of the lower means will release only thoseballs present between the said two means. The balance of the balls beingretained in a position above the means 24 until the valve member 24h isagain retracted. It `will be apparent, therefore, that by selecting anappropriate separation of the valve means and ensuring that the feed ateach cycle of operation is sufficient to ll the space between the upperand lower valve means so a predetermined number of balls can be releasedat each discharge operation.

Whilst actuation of the lower valve means will usually be manual,although of course automatic actuation can be utilised if desired,actuation of the upper valve means is effected by the abutment of theplunger 33 carried by the Valve member with the fixed tube part 30, suchabutment being consequent upon a downward movement of the spindle 28 andassociated parts, the plunger head 33a being appropriately shaped tofollow the contour of the tube part and axial movement of the plungergiving rise to a like movement of the valve member 24b to cause thelatter to enter the counting tube thus to prevent the entry of furtherballs.

The invention is not restricted to the exact features of the embodimenthereinbefore described since alternatives will readily presentthemselves to one skilled in the art th-us, for example, the conicalbase to the hopper may be made perforate, at least in selected regionsthereof, thereby to facilitate the uidisation of the balls if desired,-whilst the interior of the hopper may be pressurised by feeding airthereinto other than through the bottom thereof.

What I claim is:

1. Apparatus for feeding discrete articles individually and insuccession from a supply thereof comprising a hopper to store saidarticles, an article outlet in said hopper, means to direct fluidpressure to the interior of the hopper positioned adjacent said outlet,a tube positioned in alignment with said outlet, a valve assemblycoupled to said tube spaced from said hopper, said valve assemblyincluding spaced upper and lower valves members, the space between thevalve constituting a valved zone, the valve arrangement being such asthat when the fupper valve is open the lower valve is closed, thusarticles are free to flow into the valved zone through the upper valveand be supported by the lower valve but when the valves are actuated toassume alternate positions the upper valve will arrest the ow ofarticles into the valved zone and the lower valve will allow the llow ofarticles from the valved zone therethrough, means to actuate the valveassembly including a spindle extending longitudinally of the said tubeand movable relative thereto in the axial direction thereof, a supportplate scoured to the said spindle at one side of the tube, a blocksecured to the said spindle at the opposite side of the said tube, thesupport plate and the block each being secured to the tube at spacedlocations thereon, and a resilient means against the restraint of whichthe spindle moves relative to the tube, the tube co-operating with thevalve means to effect an actuation thereof upon movement of the spindlerelative to the tube.

2. Apparatus as clailrned in claim 1 wherein the said block has athrough hole therein in alignment with the tube and the lower valve isarranged transversely of the said hole.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 947,932 2/1910 Peckham. 1,042,78510/1912 Goulding 221-296 1,313,491 8/ 1919 Lazzell 222-450 XR 2,890,8146/1959 Hohl 221-200 XR 3,212,671 10/1965 Rock 222-45() XR FOREIGNPATENTS 76,367 1/ 1948 Czechoslovakia. 486,873 2/1918 France. 924,66010/ 1955 Germany.

WALTER SOBIN, Primary Examiner.

